The Tale of the Midnight Madness

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Midnight Society

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Air Date: Saturday, June 26, 1993
Storyteller: Frank (Jason Alisharan)

Intro: As the Midnight Society gathers, Kiki (Jodie Resther) and David (Nathaniel Moreau) run in, excited about having passes for that night's "Fright Night" at their local theatre, showing three monster movies in a row. Frank then shares his experience there and explains why he will never go back. After a bit of teasing, recalling Frank's fear of the dark (as established in 'Dark Music'), Frank uses his explanation to creepily foreshadow the tale he's about to tell, which ends up getting everyone intrigued.

Story: An old-fashioned movie theatre called "The Rialto" is about ready to sell its last movie ticket, unable to keep up with the times. Here, Pete (Eddie Robinson), a devoted supporter of the theatre, works with his friend, Katie (Melanie Wiesenthal), and does his best to save the theatre from closing. When their luck runs out, Dr. Vink (Aron Tager) returns to Frank's storytelling, offering to save the theatre in exchange for allowing him to show his movies once a week. Ultimately, it works, but the catch is that these movies can take on a life of their own, turning the on-screen fantasy into a creepy reality.

Review: This is definitely one of my all-time favourite episodes of the series. Its creepiness notwithstanding, it also introduced me to the likes of the Nosferatu-style vampire (Christopher Heyerdahl), takes place at a movie theatre, features a character who likes movies as much as I do, and it's all topped off with the return of Dr. Vink, who was always a bit of a favourite character of mine through the series. This story is far better than 'Phantom Cab' though, complete with a fun twist ending. As it usually goes with this show, things get nonsensical, but this will forever be a personal favourite.

Final Rating: Afraid

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